Butterflied Roast Chicken With Rice Stuffing

A stuffed bird sounds like a great idea, right? I know, it holds the charm of a one dish meal, with your protein and starch cooking at the same time. However, I completely agree with Alton Brown that stuffing is evil:). (His show of Romancing the Bird is one of the most popular videos and recipes on the Food Network.).

When I spent many months in bed, I watched every single episode of his show, Good Eats. I couldn’t do any cooking myself, so that sort of filled my void of cooking. I learned so much from watching this amazing cooking show, since he goes into the scientific reasoning behind cooking and food. Fascinating, if you’re a nerd like me:).

Here are some problems with stuffing a bird.

#1. In order for the stuffing to get cooked through completely, you need to cook it MUCH longer than the actual bird, so you end up with chewy, dry and rubbery meat.

#2. The amount of stuffing that fits inside the bird is a measly amount, so you either have to make more stuffing on the side, or else half of your family/guests will be left very sad because there wasn’t enough stuffing for everybody.

#3. This is kind of gross, and my personal pet peeve about stuffings – the gross stuff around the back bone of the bird soaks into the stuffing and you get to eat it. Maybe you’ve never noticed it, but trust me, it’s there.

With this recipe, not only does the chicken cook faster and gets a much more evenly crisp, golden skin, but you also get the lovely addition of a delicious rice stuffing to go with it, without any of the above mentioned problems.

Since the bird simply rests on top of the stuffing, you can get a lot more stuffing than if you were stuffing it inside the cavity. The bone underneath the breast is pretty clean, so you don’t have any nasty stuff leaking into the stuffing, only the delicious juices from the actual roasting chicken. Most importantly, since the rice is directly spread out on the baking sheet and gets a lot of the oven’s heat instead of being protected and shielded all around by the bird, the stuffing is cooked through completely just as soon as the chicken is done roasting. So what do we end up with? A moist, juicy chicken with golden, crisp skin and scrumptious rice stuffing, all cooked much faster than the traditional roast bird. I’ll take it!

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (4-5 lbs)

3/4-1 cup uncooked rice

1 Tablespoon butter or oil

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, grated

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt, pepper

1 Tablespoon oil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Cut the backbone out of the chicken. Using kitchen shears is the best option. (Save the backbone to use in chicken broth.) Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Cook the rice according to the package directions, slightly undercooking it. Your rice should be 90% cooked.

While the rice is cooking, in a skillet, melt the butter.

Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender. When the rice is cooked, drain it and add the vegetables to it. Mix to combine. Mound the rice on the prepared baking sheet, shaping it into sort of an oval shape. Eye your bird and make the rice a bed for it to rest on. If your bird is on the smaller side, you may end up with some of the rice left over. If your chicken is a good 5 pounds, you’ll be able to fit all of the stuffing underneath. (Just take note that 1 cup of the uncooked rice will yield enough for 4 servings. If you use a smaller bird, you will have less rice to serve on the side.)Place the butterflied chicken on top of the rice. The chicken should cover the rice completely. If a bit of rice is sticking out from the edges it ok. Rub the chicken with 1 Tablespoon of oil. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 1 hour, until your instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees in the chicken breast and 175 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh. If you don’t have a thermometer, poke the meat with a knife and when the bird is done, the juice should run clear, with no pink in it.

However, I would strongly suggest getting a thermometer, since it’s inexpensive and will give you the best results. Chicken overcooks very easily, so I would start checking the chicken 45 minutes after you put it into the oven. My chicken was quite large, about 5 pounds, so it took about 1 hour to bake.

Let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes before carving it. Serve with the rice.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Cut the backbone out of the chicken. Using kitchen shears is the best option. (Save the backbone to use in chicken broth.)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Cook the rice according to the package directions, slightly undercooking it. Your rice should be 90% cooked.

While the rice is cooking, in a skillet, melt the butter. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender.

When the rice is cooked, drain it and add the vegetables to it. Mix to combine.

Mound the rice on the prepared baking sheet, shaping it into sort of an oval shape. Eye your bird and make the rice as a bed for it to rest on. Place the butterflied chicken on top of the rice. The chicken should cover the rice completely. If a bit of rice is sticking out from the edges it ok.

Rub the chicken with 1 Tablespoon of oil. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 1 hour, until your instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees in the chicken breast and 175 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh. Let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes before carving it. Serve with the rice.

This was my most favorite childhood recipe. Nice finding your blog I too am from Russia and, once in a while, I post Russian favorites. This last post was about infusing vodkas – the Russian way. Check it out if you are intersted http://cuceesprouts.com/2014/03/infusing-vodka/

Hi! Made the butterflied chicken last night and it was super moist and really delicious. I butterflied the turkey for thanksgiving this past year just never thought of doing it to a chicken until I saw your recipe. Thank you.

Hi Olja,
can you please answer the following question: why do you cut out the backbone out of the chicken on one picture and on the other pictures the chicken is still showen with the backbone?
Thanks!

Glad you stopped by! I'm Olga. A nurse by night, a wife, mother and homemaker by day, I love to cook and entertain. I grew up with Russian food and when we came to America, fell in love with so many other cuisines. I share great recipes with detailed instructions and step by step pictures.

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Glad you stopped by! I'm Olga. A nurse by night, a wife, mother and homemaker by day, I love to cook and entertain. I grew up with Russian food and when we came to America, fell in love with so many other cuisines. I share great recipes with detailed instructions and step by step pictures.